Personal and Political Background
Born in 84 BC, Publius Servilius Casca Longus was an initial support of Pompey. However, when Julius Caesar defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalia, Casca begged for mercy and was given a full pardon. Even before the political separation, Casca's family was considered family friends with Julius Caesar's family. Both Casca and his brother, Gaius, were close friends with Julius Caesar. However, both brothers turned on Caesar and joined the conspiracy to murder Caesar. In fact, it was Casca who struck the first blow to Caesar after Titilius Cimber gave the signal (grabbing Caesar's cloak).
Name
A Roman name includes four parts, the praenomen, nomen, cognomen, and honorific. Publius is Casca's praenomen, which was a personal name that was only used among family. Servilius is the nomen, which is the tribal name that indicates the patrician origin of the person. It serves the same purpose as a last name does in the modern era. Casca is the cognomen, which was the family name used to distinguish between different family members of a nomen. Longus is Casca's honorific, which is an additional name that is bestowed upon him, most likely according to his achievements.
Education
Like many others who were born into wealthy families, Casca didn't attend an education like we do now. The rich upper class had their children educated by private tutors, and that way children were able to receive special attention to develop their abilities. This allowed Casca to have a head start in the political world, and move up the ranks before his competitors.
Religion
Although there was a minority of atheistic politicians, Casca was brought up in a fairly religious environment where people worshipped the gods (Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, etc.) However, when he was murdering Caesar, he showed no sign of fear for retribution from the gods. Maybe it was because he had prayed about it and received signs, which he interpreted to encourage him to murder Caesar.
Official Job
The official title of Publius Servilius Casca Longus was Tribune of the People. A Tribune of the People has the duty of hearing the cries of the people and creating legislations that best fits the needs of the people. As an elected Tribune, Casca could convene the Plebeian Court and act as its president. This gave him the power of proposing new legislations. In addition to that, any assault against him, both verbally and physically, was considered a criminal act. This made Publius Servilius Casca Longus a very powerful man in Rome, and a powerful ally to have when murdering Caesar.
Political Status
As a senator of Rome, Publius Servilius Casca Longus had a lot of power among the Roman society. When he sided with Pompey, there were many others who had sided with Pompey as well, but they were no match for the military strength that Caesar had. Unfortunately for Casca, the pen was not mightier than the sword. When Pompey was beaten, Casca begged forgiveness from Caesar, and he was forgiven. Caesar did this to try and get Publius Servilius Casca Longus on his side, but Casca only pretended to be friends with Caesar.
Marriage + Personal Life
Records indicate that Publius Servilius Casca Longus had no spouse or children. When he died in 42 BC, Publius Servilius Casca Longus departed from this world as a bachelor with no next of kin. When he was chased out of Rome along with the other conspirators, Casca did not have anymore support from within Rome, so he just waited with the combined force of Brutus and Cassius. Following the army to Philippi, Casca watched over the battle with Antony and Octavius. When he saw that the battle was lost, he commited suicide.